Apply for a liquor licence
In most circumstances, you need a liquor licence or be registered to sell or supply alcohol in the Northern Territory (NT). If you are unsure, check if you need a liquor licence.
If you are interested in wholesale, find out how to register as a wholesaler of liquor.
Who can apply
You can apply as an individual, partnership or company. In your application, you must be able to prove you are a 'fit and proper' person to be a licensee. Read more about becoming an approved licensee.
What you need to do
Get your required documents together and work out which liquor licence type you need.
You will need to identify at least one nominee. Your nominee is responsible for the day-to-day management of the licensed premises. It's good to have more than one nominee, in case they get sick or change jobs.
Before someone can become a nominee, they must complete a responsible service of alcohol course and understand how to promote alcohol responsibly.
Get the Code of Practice for the Responsible Advertising and Promotion of Liquor PDF (823.9 KB).
You may be required to publicly advertise your liquor licence application.
How long it takes
The time your application takes can depend on its type and complexity.
For a fee, your application can be fast tracked within 30 business days of lodgement. This does not guarantee it will be approved or approved within 30 business days, but it will have a shorter processing time.
If you're applying for a special event licence, it will usually be processed within 4 weeks.
For other types of liquor licences, it can take 4 months to receive a decision on your application. This depends on the time it takes at each below stage. Simpler applications will be processed quicker:
- assessment - up to 4 weeks - can take longer if you haven't attached all the details needed
- advertising and objection - up to 8 weeks - time will be reduced if there are no objections to the application
- Liquor Commission determination - at least 4 weeks - the commission is an independent decision-maker for liquor licence applications.
Application fees
Your application fee depends on the licence type and when you want a decision by.
Pay to fast-track an application
You can request to fast-track your application for a fee of $585 to increase the likelihood of a decision being made within 30 days.
If your application requires advertising or receives an objection, fast-tracking won’t speed up those processes.
The timeframe may also be affected by the complexity of your application.
The total fee for all applications submitted within 30 days of when the liquor licence is required is $585.
It does not guarantee approval. Your application may still be denied.
Current fees
Fees are given in revenue units, as set out in Part 3 of the Liquor Regulations 2019. The value of a revenue unit is defined by the Revenue Units Act 2009.
The value of a revenue unit changes every year in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Find out more about revenue units.
The application fees set out below are current from Monday 1 July 2024 and may be subject to change.
| Description | Revenue units | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Application for a new liquor licence and special event or major event authority | 17 | $23 |
| Application for a new liquor licence and one or more authorities, other than a special event or major event authority | 166 | $234 |
| Application to add one or more authorities to an existing liquor licence, other than a special event authority | 166 | $234 |
| Application to vary a liquor licence | 83 | $117 |
| Application to substitute a premises for a licensed premises | 83 | $117 |
| Application for approval of a material alteration to a licensed premises | 83 | $117 |
| Application to transfer a liquor licence | 83 | $117 |
| Application to register as a complimentary server of liquor | - | Free |
Pay your application fee at a Territory Business Centre after you submit.
Annual fees for licence holders
Liquor licence holders must pay an annual fee based on the risk based licensing framework.
How to apply
Apply in person or by email by following these steps.
Step 1. Fill in the relevant application.
Special event licence PDF (279.3 KB)
Special event licence DOCX (89.4 KB)
Major event licence PDF (279.6 KB)
Major event licence DOCX (92.8 KB)
New liquor licence or authority PDF (264.0 KB)
New liquor licence or authority DOCX (89.7 KB)
Producers licence PDF (279.1 KB)
Producers licence DOCX (94.7 KB)
Step 2. Attach supporting documents for your licence type including for nominees and executive officers.
Step 3. Submit your application with supporting documents and pay the fee at your nearest Territory Business Centre.
You can also email your application and a receipt of the fee to liquorlicensing.ditt@nt.gov.au.
More information
If you have any questions, contact Licensing NT.
For more information, you can:
- read the Liquor Act 2019 and Liquor Regulations 2019
- consult with your local liquor and hospitality peak industry bodies
- consult with business and legal professional industry bodies.
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